I can be my own brand! Wow, that sounds powerful, scary, and hard all at the same time.I never thought of myself as a brand until I read The Brand Called You. I wasn't particularly into the specific content of the article, probably because I was too sidetracked thinking about my brand...
How am I representing myself in the virtual world? Do I have a strong brand? Will employers want to hire me? Have I made strong networking connections through my online brand?
So much to think about now that "my brand" is online.
I guess I would characterize my virtual brand as what appears in my google search. You will quickly learn that I'm a runner, work at American University, and am getting married in
November.
Do these three things represent my brand accurately?
I guess they have to, because it's the first thing people learn about me virtually or when potential employers do a search.
In the touchable, livable world (not online), I think I have a much different brand. I don't talk much about wedding planning... whereas you might think that is my life from my online presence.
How do I make sure my true brand is present online?
I hide my facebook profile, so that's out. I don't have much on my linkedin account, expect for basics on my career history (clearly time to beef that up). Twitter, might be the most accurate representation I have of my brand online. It shows my personality and uniquness 140 characters at a time.
Maybe I truly need to identify myself more when blogging. Companies like Marriott and Southwest are able to represent their culture well through blogging. This could be where I need to step it up, to make sure "my brand" is well-articulated and well-represented virtually.
In that case, it's time to start a sports blog...
I have to wonder how much time social networking users spend thinking about their personal brand. And how much they should.
ReplyDeleteIf I was told to think of every personal conversation as a potential career move, I would reject the idea. But the personal is now the published, so it might be time for a change of mindset.
I have been trying to build my "brand" for some time now. It is why I purchased a website, have a twitter account that I use "professionally," and why I have multiple facebook accounts (one personal-BLOCKED, and one professional-VISIBLE). I have not gottent ot he point of worrying about SEO on my website, because I am not trying to sell anything but myself. I can't maximize SEO through cosmetics, fine art, marketing/business school all at once, yet these things are all represented on my website. To me, this situation is similar to writing cover letters and resumes. You never want to give away the WHOLE story, because you want to have something new and interesting to tell a person when you meet face-to-face. So if an employer "googles" me and finds out that I played volleyball in college, and that I work for NG now, that will only be part of the picture. Then I can direct them to my website, and tell them about more of my meaningful experiences in person. So, the short version of this is, I don't think your online "brand" has to be all inclusive- it just needs to wet a the readers palette for more.
ReplyDeleteIs it really a brand if it is just random, scattered information about you? It can be an initial impression or perhaps gain you a reputation. But I think the buzzword obsession the business world is in is starting to skew the true meaning.
ReplyDeleteDon't brands have to be built? Not just stumbled upon?